Happy Feet – Pastor RD Mangold (Part 1 of 2)

Happy Feet

14 He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes;

15 Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.

16 Moreover he called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole staff of bread.

17 He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:

18 Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron:

19 Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him.

20 The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free.

21 He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance:

22 To bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom.

John 13:12-17

12 So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?

13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.

14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.

15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.

17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

Without a doubt one of the most inspiring stories in all of the scripture – the story of Joseph going from favored son, to slave, to a ruler in Egypt, brings with it all the elements of a great story…Tragedy, treachery, travail, and ultimate triumph.

If you have never sat down and read the story of Joseph starting in Genesis Chapter 37, you owe it to yourself to read it.

Joseph’s story illustrates for us that when God institutes a calling and purpose in your life – you better pursue with all diligence.

Hebrews 10:23 – Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

When you’re feeling challenged in your spirit, and the enemy comes against you; don’t you for a minute think that God’s going to sit idly by and watch you flounder around. We serve a God that cares – and cares deeply for His people…

1Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Sore Feet

We find in our reading a brief summary about the story of Joseph but I want to queue you into a particular passage of David’s account of the story. He says it like this…

Psalm 105:18 Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron:

This particular account brings to light an element that even the original story doesn’t. We knew Joseph was experiencing pain. You know, the pain of being sold into slavery, the pain of betrayal, and just the overall pain that somehow he may be missing the mark.

But this reading shows us that something was adding to that misery…Joseph’s feet HURT with fetters!

Of all the things the writer in Psalms could have included in his description of Joseph’s account, he dialed right into how Joseph’s feet hurt due to the fetters.

What’s Got Your Feet Fettered?

Have you ever been so tired, and walked so much that your feet ached…no, I mean downright hurt? I think one of the most miserable feelings a person can have is when their feet hurt.

I may be stating the obvious here, but if you’re feet are hurting you’re going no where fast.

Washington D.C. Trip

London Trip (if time)

Those stories illustrate that we put our feet through some serious abuse and expect peak performance every time.

Now, imagine if your feet were fettered or shackled.

Now imagine they’re put there to restrain you.

Imagine how your ankles would ache, the sores and blisters that would fester and ooze.

You’re so tightly bound that freedom of movement is impossible.

Joseph was there – full of hopes, dreams, and ambition but he was in fact bound so tightly by the fetters, or leg irons, that his feet just hurt.

When in the midst of his trials, Joseph’s only real complaint…my feet hurt!

My feet don’t hurt because I’ve walked too much or because I’m retaining water…my feet simply hurt because I’m bound and I can’t get free of my fetters.

Some of you within the sound of my voice today have sore feet. They’re not sore because you’ve done a great deal of traveling, or because someone has been stomping on them…Your feet hurt because you sit here a miserable wreck, bound by fetters of the enemy and you’re in PAIN!

Won’t you admit it? You’re feet hurt – you’re tired of pulling at the leg irons that have you so tightly bound.

I’m here to declare men and women…

YOU WERE NOT MEANT TO BE BOUND!

HE WHO THE SON HAS SET FREE IS FREE INDEED!

We have a Savior today that’s not content to watch you rot in the prison of your present circumstance…GOD WANTS YOU TO HAVE HAPPY FEET!

The Bible and Feet

If you did your homework in the scripture, you’d see that feet play a very prominent role in the Bible…